The next morning, Roxas woke up feeling groggy and disoriented. As he sat up in bed, he began to remember the events of the night before, and a smile spread across his face.

After Roxas had kissed him, Axel had gently drawn himself away and laid down on the platform with his feet dangling off, looking up at the moon. Still hundreds of feet in the air, Roxas lay down next to him.

Roxas searched his memory, trying to hold onto every detail of what had happened. They had talked a lot. Well, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Axel had talked a lot. Roxas had just listened as Axel revealed things about Lea's past and the history of the city that surrounded them. Roxas loved every second of it.

The only thing that disrupted this illusion of perfection was Axel's strict determination to avoid the subject of Castle Oblivion. Roxas tried (not too hard, he admitted) to bring it up again, but Axel always quickly redirected the conversation. It scared Roxas to think of what could be so bad that Axel felt he had to hide it. However, deep down, Roxas was almost grateful that he didn't know. He didn't want anything to ruin their relationship, but he couldn't stop himself from feeling slightly uneasy even as he hoped what Axel said wasn't true.

Realizing that his joy was beginning to fade, Roxas redirected his thoughts to something more pleasant. He remembered that they had stayed on the top of the skyscraper in San Fransokyo until the sun rose. Roxas must have fallen asleep at some point after this, because he didn't remember what happened next. Axel must have brought him back here, he thought, and the grin returned to his face.

Roxas got out of bed and sleepily put on his uniform, taking care to fold the clothes that Axel had brought him. Today would not be easy, he could tell. He walked into the main room to find out what his mission was, hoping it wouldn't be too demanding. He didn't realize until he saw Axel walking toward him with a strange expression on his face that he must look like a total wreck. In his sleepy stupor he hadn't bothered to shower or comb his hair or even look in a mirror. He'd walked here out of mindless habit. He must look ridiculous.

"Rough night, eh?" Axel teased, winking at him. "Come on. You're my partner for today – lucky for you," he added.

"What're we doing?" Roxas asked hazily. He was glad to have an excuse to spend another day with Axel. It was the best possible scenario given how he was feeling. He just hoped he could stay awake.

"Fighting heartless in Beast's Castle. Should be fun. You'll be doing all the work. I'm just there to babysit," Axel smirked. He knew how much Roxas hated it when Organization members called going on missions with him "babysitting," which they did all the time.

Roxas groaned and rolled his eyes. He was feeling irritable, but at least going on a mission with Axel meant he wouldn't have to explain why he was so tired.

He followed Axel through a black portal and into the familiar courtyard outside the castle.

Axel looked him up and down. "Are you sure you're up for this? You look so sleepy and helpless… It's cute," he clarified, making Roxas blush, "But we've still got a mission to do. So you're gonna have to wake up a bit," he said as he turned toward the castle.

Roxas felt like he wasn't functioning properly, and it was rather perplexing to him. He realized that he had never been this sleep-deprived before. Sure, thinking about Axel had kept him up at night, but he'd always managed to fall asleep eventually. This was torture.

"After you," Axel said, motioning for Roxas to follow him to the castle.

Roxas felt useless. He couldn't fight well because he couldn't concentrate. He knew he was moving miserably slow. After a while Axel seemed to take pity on him and motioned for him to rest in a familiar room. There was a beautiful rose in a glass case inside. It was the only pretty thing in the dilapidated surroundings.

"You should sit," Axel said, gesturing to the threadbare couch that faced the rose. Axel sat beside him.

"I feel awful," Roxas grumbled, yawning again. He lay his head on Axel's shoulder and was happy to feel Axel respond by putting an arm around him. Axel kissed his forehead. It was such a gentle and comforting gesture. Roxas could've fallen asleep right then, but he resisted so he could keep enjoying the moment.

"How are you so awake?" Roxas asked.

"I'm a lot more used to not sleeping than you. That's what happens when you have a guilty conscience."

"You don't sleep?" Roxas asked into Axel's shoulder.

"Nope. Or, not often."

Roxas was surprised that he'd managed to get Axel to hold him like this. Something about being so sleepy had put his guard down, and he was willing to try things he normally wouldn't. He wasn't even afraid to ask the question that had been bothering him since yesterday. "What did you mean when you talked about Castle Oblivion last night?" he asked, "You never answered me." Now that he said it, he realized how afraid he was for the answer. He held his breath, waiting.

"Roxas," Axel sighed, "Can we just not talk about it for now?" He sounded as tired as Roxas felt. "I just… please? Let's just sit here together."

Roxas didn't feel like putting up a fight. Maybe he didn't want to talk about it right now either. Maybe what he wanted to do was pretend, just like Axel, that nothing was wrong – that they were just two people who felt comfortable enough to sit here in silence. Axel lifted his chin and put his lips on Roxas's for a few sweet moments. He didn't speak after that, and Roxas could tell something was still wrong. He didn't say this to Axel though. He just stayed in his arms, enjoying the only slightly fractured bliss of being together.

~0~

It was dark outside when Roxas woke up again, his head lying on Axel's lap. As he moved to sit up he felt Axel stir and yawn.

"Roxas, are you awake?" he whispered.

"Yep," Roxas whispered back.

"I need to tell you something."

Axel's tone made him nervous. It helped that he couldn't see his eyes. He stared at the glowing rose on the table in front of him – it was even more enchanting in the dark.

"I shouldn't be doing any of this. I shouldn't be here with you. I shouldn't have kissed you in the first place, and I definitely shouldn't have taken you to my Somebody's house or to San Fransokyo last night."

"You've just described all the best moments of my life," Roxas admitted.

"Oh Roxas... Don't you remember what I told you last night? I'm a bad person, and I shouldn't be with you. Got it memorized? You're too good for me."

"Then why did you kiss me?" Roxas asked, but he realized his real question was "Why are you making me like you when you think I shouldn't' be with you?" He was too afraid to ask that one.

"I don't know Roxas…. Probably because I'm selfish… Plus, you're really cute," he added, making Roxas blush for the umpteenth time.

"Do you want to go to the clock tower?" Axel asked.

"But we never finished our mission."

"Who cares?" Axel scoffed, and Roxas realized he certainly didn't. All he cared about was getting a few more minutes with Axel.

~0~

It was fully dark outside when they arrived in Twilight Town. Neither of them spoke much at first. It was weird to be back in a familiar setting after all that had happened.

"Can I ask you something?" Roxas said quietly.

"Depends on what it is," Axel responded.

"Do you know anything about my Somebody?"

Axel fidgeted, clearly bothered by the question. "That's the kind of thing I was afraid you'd ask," he confessed, looking down at the few lights in the quiet town below.

"Can't you tell me anything? " He'd been thinking about it a lot lately. The more Axel told him about Lea, the more curious Roxas got about his own Somebody.

"I will tell you one thing, and that's all. Got it memorized?"

"Fine," Roxas agreed.

"You can't tell anyone. Not even Xion, okay?"

"Fine."

"Pinky swear," he said. Roxas looked at him, confused.

He demonstrated how to make a pinky promise. "Okay, that's a stupid way of saying that you promise not to tell anyone, alright?"

Even though it was childish, any reason to touch Axel was fine with him. Roxas nodded.

"His name is Sora."

"Sora?"

"Yep."

"That's all you're going to tell me?"

"Mmhmm," Axel nodded.

"Sora..." He liked the sound of it.

"Do you know how Organization members get their names?"

"Nope," Roxas responded. He'd honestly never thought about it before.

"You take the letters in your Somebody's name, and then you add a letter, "x" – Wait, do you know the alphabet?" Roxas nodded, and he continued, "So S-O-R-A was rearranged to spell R-O-X-A-S."

Roxas thought for a second. "Why not… Saxor or… Arsox or… something? Why Roxas?"

Axel raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you really want to be named Saxor?" he joked.

Roxas smiled. "No... but who decided my name then?"

"I guess when I think back on it, I did. You were so hopelessly clueless when you arrived, and we discussed a few names for you, and I was the one who picked Roxas. I didn't know then how important that name would become to me... But we should probably go. I would hate to keep you up again. Children need their rest…"

"Oh, shut up," Roxas admonished, both angry and amused as they made their way back to Organization headquarters.

"Seriously though, do you want me to tuck you in?" Axel asked, putting on a mock serious tone as they neared his room. "I think I know a few bedtime stories…"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! I'm not even that much younger than you!"

"You're young enough, Roxas," Axel declared, switching to a mildly serious tone. He paused and stopped to face Roxas, looking into his eyes. "We've got to stop doing this," he said, his mischievous smile seeming to indicate the opposite.

Roxas felt the familiar sensation of Axel-induced nervousness as they stood facing one another.

Axel moved closer to Roxas and unexpectedly drew him into a hug. Roxas hadn't received many of those in his life, and he relished the feeling of it. "Night Roxas," Axel said and kissed him on the nose.

It was such a silly thing, but it made Roxas smile.

Axel smiled back. They were both acting a little unlike themselves, but Roxas couldn't say he didn't like it. It was kind of new, kind of fun for a change. Not like some of the depressing conversations they'd had lately.

"I'll see you tomorrow, k?" Axel beamed.

"Okay," Roxas affirmed, as he left the dark hallway and turned on the light in his room. It wasn't until he was in his pajamas and laying under the covers of his bed that his smile faded slightly as he remembered the thing Axel still hadn't told him. The thought of Castle Oblivion lurked stealthily in the back of his mind, and even as he tried to crush it with the memories of today, he couldn't shake the feeling that because of it, these moments of carefree bliss couldn't last forever.